Liberating Africa: A Missionary Challenge
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Date
2000
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
Standing on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa,
panning round, one sees a continent in distress. Looking north, south, cast and west,
one sees and hears of hunger, war, famine, starvation, killings, domestic violence,
unemployment and chains of other social evils.
Although Africa is in pain, she is also a continent with hope, one blessed
with lots of natural and human resources. Africa has survived very hard and difficult
times and longs for a better tomorrow. With Christ's ever redeeming presence
continually shining on her, she can hope for a brighter future. Seeing in Christ's
mission the liberation of the human race, we can say that Christianity essentially
seeks to liberate and bring about a day of salvation. The question is what role can
Christianity play in the teligious, socio-political and economic distress facing this
continent? This poses a challenge to the missionary nature of the Church. The
challenge is that of relevance. Christianity has to wake up to the day to day life of the
people in its mission as well as in its theology.
It is the aim of this paper to present a response to this challenge. The overall
objective is an arrival at a necessary theological foundation that empowers one to face
the challenge of a preferential option for the poor within an African context. As such,
we need a theology that is people-centred and one that will empower us to face this
challenge. It should be a theology that calls God's people into 'being- for —freedom'
in the world. We hope to arrive at an African liberating and missionary theology,
which will be of great relevance to the people's situation, as well as being an essential
tool for future missionaries. The tenets arrived at, should as much as possible be
relevant to situations that need an option br the poor even outside Africa.
One of the common approaches is to take Africa as a small entity with
basically the same problem. This approach is both right and wrong. Basically, Africa
is a suffering continent. We shall get as much as possible relevant inputs from any of
the countries. It is hoped that whatever conclusions we arrive at might in one way or
another be applicable to various African countries.
As a launch of our response, chapter one of the work will be on 'Liberation
Theology: A new way of doing theology'. Since the approach of this work is to see
the Christian liberating rol- in the complex situation of Africa, such a role ought to be
based on a theology. Our choice of Liberation theology is not because it is a recent
theology in its systematic form, but as a theology that is down to earth in that, it focuses on the daily life of the people. We shall examine its content, development,
and its methodology, its missionary dimension and how it can be a paradigm of
African liberation.
Accepting liberation theology from our first chapter, chapter two will
examine the faces of Africa. I lere, we shall examine the situation of Africa by
applying the 'see' as the first of the trilogy of liberating praxis. This will involve a
search into the religious situation, sustainable development, and the political
situation. We shall end this chapter by posing the need for 'judge' to unravel the root
cause of African degradation.
Chapter three as the application of 'judge', the second of the trilogy will
begin with a social analysis and theological reflection. With those two considerations,
we shall posit the structure of sin as the root cause of African degradation. Upon that
will follow an attempt at identifying the various areas of the challenges so as to be
able to act concretely. The identification will range from theology and inculturation to
issues of gender and development. The areas identified will form the ground for our
missionary response in the next chapter.
Providing concrete solutions from a missionary perspective which, is also
the application of 'act', the last of the trilogy of liberating praxis is what this last
chapter hopes to arrive at. Our response will be a positing that. the solution to African
problems is far beyond the numerous international conferences, political systems,
economic policies, international organisation and numerous 1\1(i0s. An integral and
full emancipation is possible with the uprooting of the structure of sin. The uprooting
will be possible through recourse to Jesus as the master liberator and a positing of
various ideas and channels.
The conclusion will be an attempt at laying a foundation for an African
liberating and missionary theology.
Description
Keywords
Liberation, Theology, Religion, Religion, Africa, Social Life